5%-10% of collected rent ($150/mo min), a one-time placement fee, and six guarantees in writing. Median rent in the area: ~$1,350/month. Bilingual team — English & 中文.
Serving the industrial-growth corridor along I-10 between Lafayette and the Texas line.
Refinery and LNG expansion keeps rental demand robust.
Homes, duplexes and small commercial units managed with the same guarantees.
Also serving nearby: Lafayette · Baton Rouge · New Orleans · Houston · Katy · Cypress · Pearland · Sugar Land · Beaumont — see all 10 city guides →
Researched October 2026. Sources: Trulia (Oct 2026); CapRateCity (Feb 2026); Zillow ZHVI/ZORI; Calcasieu Parish assessment data; RealtyWire market data (May 2026); U.S. Census ACS.
Trulia's October 2026 sample has Lake Charles rents up sharply year over year but down $100 month over month. With only about 128 rentals in the sample, a handful of large listings move the average - use the range, not the average, as your comp.
| Bedroom | Rent / mo | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bed | $925 | Trulia, Oct 2026 |
| 2 bed | $1,175 | Trulia, Oct 2026 |
| 3 bed, all types | $1,750 | Trulia, Oct 2026 |
| 3 bed, single-family house | $2,000 | Trulia - houses average $1,795 citywide, the most expensive type |
| 4 bed, single-family house | $2,300 | Trulia, Oct 2026 |
Calcasieu Parish School Board serves the whole parish, with Sam Houston, Barbe and LaGrange the main high schools. Quality varies and much of the system was still repairing hurricane damage years after Laura and Delta, so check individual school performance rather than the district average. McNeese State University anchors higher education and adds a student rental tier near campus.
Lake Charles runs on two engines. The Calcasieu Ship Channel corridor is one: Phillips 66 at Westlake, CITGO in Lake Charles, the ethane cracker and downstream complex built by Sasol and now under LyondellBasell ownership, plus Westlake Chemical - with Cameron LNG and Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass further south. The other is gaming: L'Auberge Casino Resort and Golden Nugget on the lakefront, Delta Downs in Vinton. CHRISTUS Ochsner Lake Area Hospital and McNeese State round it out. Both engines are cyclical, and both are storm-exposed.
Lake Charles is the most cyclical market on our corridor. The industrial build-out — LNG, petrochemical, the Cameron corridor — drives waves of contractor demand that show up as short leases at premium rents, then vanish on the turnaround schedule. Family housing in Moss Bluff and Sulphur behaves like a normal small market. The two need different pricing and very different lease terms; treating them as one market is how owners end up with a six-month vacancy.
| Segment | Median asking rent | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 3BR / 2BA single-family | $1,350 | Prien, Ward 3, Moss Bluff |
| 4BR single-family | $1,625 | Sulphur, Carlyss, Moss Bluff |
| 2BR apartment / townhome | $975 | Downtown, Nelson Rd, McNeese corridor |
| Duplex, per side | $900 | Oak Park, University area |
Asking-rent bands reflect current listings and recently executed leases across our Lake Charles portfolio and public market sources; segment medians are compiled from the two, so treat them as an indicative range rather than an appraisal. Headline market figures: Realtor.com Research (Louisiana, July 2026) and Doorstead Houston-metro market data (July 2026); HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents for the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metro. The cards further up this page blend bedrooms and property types across our own portfolio, so they will not match a segment median exactly — your free rental analysis uses live comparables for your specific address and updates this report monthly. Get a free Lake Charles rental analysis →
State law sets the floor. County, parish, city and private covenants stack on top of it — and in Lake Charles the layer that catches owners out is usually the last one.
How we handle this in practice. Lake Charles insurance is not a line item you estimate — it is the line item that decides whether the deal works. Percentage wind deductibles, NFIP rates tied to the elevation certificate, and roof age all move the quote by thousands a year. We price it before we recommend a purchase, and we re-shop it at every renewal.
Regulations change and municipal desks read them differently street by street — always confirm the current requirement for the specific address with the city, parish or county before you rely on it. We run compliance for every property we manage, including registration renewals, annual alarm checks and the paperwork trail that decides a deposit dispute.
Three engagements from our Lake Charles portfolio. Addresses are withheld at the owners' request; figures are as executed.
A Laura-damaged rental with a patched roof that was driving both vacancy and the insurance quote. We ran the roof replacement to the Fortified standard, documented it for the carrier, and leased it at $1,450 with a substantially better premium at renewal.
Rather than chasing the highest transient rate, the owner took two 12-month leases to plant contractors at $850 a side. Lower headline rent, zero turnover risk, and both sides renewed.
A medical-sector relocation with a firm move-in date. We produced the listing from off-site photos, screened remotely, and had the lease signed before the family arrived in state.
Rent and vacancy for this city, guides by ZIP code, and every monthly report we have published for Lake Charles.
Published monthly since May 2026. Figures are statistical estimates from public sources (Zillow, Realtor.com, RentCast, HUD, U.S. Census ACS) and are general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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